But I don't think I can give you full marks for telling the unvarnished truth.

I think you should have at least hinted at how academic researchers frequently are more interested in signaling their intelligence and technical acumen than uncompromised truth-seeking. Which isn't to say that truth-discovery doesn't occur from the process, but rather than it frequently takes a backseat to empire building, subtle data manipulation, and mental gymnastics for their own sake.

It's an important lesson that's dramatically neglected among kids that age. Learning about the severe shortfalls that exist in conventional academic research is quite important for youngsters.

I think you should have tried to explain that in most fields, there is a real chance of not getting a tenure-track job, and that tenured or TT professors are not representative of all PhD paths. Many fail to complete a PhD, many others complete it but have no good jobs, etc.

Sometime I'd like to learn Bryan's biographical story -- especially the part where he became libertarian. Given what I know, I would not expect a libertarian to come out of Berkeley and Princeton. So was there a conversion process? Or did Bryan grow up in a family with libertarian values?

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